It's exactly a month now until Sunderland's exciting, yet daunting, Premier League season finally kicks into gear with West Ham United travelling to the Stadium of Light on the opening day.
There will be no Jobe Bellingham for Regis Le Bris to select, but that saddening exit has been more than softened by the number of incoming faces that have arrived on Wearside, with the ambitious Black Cats now up to six summer purchases after finalising a standout deal for Simon Adingra to enter the ranks for £18m.
simon-adingra-brighton
Poaching the Ivorian from Brighton and Hove Albion will help boost Sunderland's top-flight experience ahead of the challenging season to come, with more signings tipped to join the building who have recently called the elite division home.
Sunderland monitoring £30m midfielder
Indeed, whilst it is exhilarating to splash the cash on some foreign talents in the hope they come good, Le Bris will be aware that the Premier League is an unforgiving beast. Therefore, he will need players who have been in and around the division before to try and stave off relegation.
That's where reported target Granit Xhaka might well come to the rescue in the middle of the park, with the ex-Arsenal star boasting a whopping 225 outings in the Premier League to date.
Granit-Xhaka-Arsenal
This is also where Bilal El Khannouss could join the ever-growing Black Cats camp and cause a stir, considering the Moroccan playmaker stood out last season for Leicester City near the bottom of the top-flight pile with his creativity and eye for goal.
According to Sky Sports journalist Rob Dorsett via X, Sunderland are monitoring developments involving the in-demand 21-year-old, with Mikel Arteta's high-flying Arsenal also once noted as being an admirer of the £30m-rated ace, alongside what is described as 'long-term' interest from Le Bris and Co.
If all goes to plan and Sunderland are successful in this race, the Black Cats might well be about to pick up their next Jobe Bellingham, as the promising attacking midfielder attempts to reach the same levels as the now Borussia Dortmund superstar under Le Bris' tutelage.
How El Khannouss could be Le Bris' next Jobe
Of course, Sunderland have already added several thrilling attacking signings to try and fill the void left behind by the 19-year-old's high-profile departure, with the likes of £30m purchase Habib Diarra comfortably slotting in at the number ten spot if needed.
Yet, away from the much-loved Chris Rigg, there isn't an instantly recognisable out-and-out number ten, which will be a concern, considering how impactful Bellingham was from this position during Sunderland's promotion heroics.
In total, before packing his bags for a new Black and Yellow adventure, Bellingham would chip in with four goals and three assists in league action, with the strike above showing off his cool ability to fire home a sweet effort from distance, much like El Khannouss managed last season versus Tottenham Hotspur.
Whilst those numbers are not that mind-blowing in the grand scheme of things, even as he helped Sunderland return to the top-flight, Dortmund clearly saw a lot of promise in the teenage sensation as they attempt to try and mould him now into a potential world-class performer in Germany, with Sunderland thinking the exact same with their fresh target.
El Khannouss' league numbers for Leicester (24/25)
Stat - per 90 mins*
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Touches*
Accurate passes*
Big chances created
Stats by Sofascore
Analysing the numbers, El Khannouss managed to stand out as a bright spark last campaign, even as Leicester's hopes of staying up fell to the wayside, with the 21-year-old going on to create an impressive eight chances in total, despite the Foxes only scoring a weak 33 strikes from 38 clashes.
In the right environment, El Khannouss' game might be taken to that next level to the point where he's in conversations to join the likes of Dortmund, with the Athletic's Alexander Barker already labelling him as a "top talent" for the future.
Leicester City's Bilal El Khannouss in action
Sunderland will just hope that if he does explode into life even more on Wearside, that he doesn't desert the camp as quickly as Bellingham did, with El Khannouss perhaps one for the long-term if Le Bris' men can consolidate their status as a top-flight side swiftly.
Charlie-Cresswell Related
[Bigger talent than Cresswell: Sunderland ready bid for "ice-cold" £24m star](https://www.footballfancast.com/bigger-talent-than-charlie-cresswell-sunderland-jhon-lucumi/ "Bigger talent than Cresswell: Sunderland ready bid for "ice-cold" £24m star")
Sunderland could add a star to their growing camp very soon, who is an even bigger talent than Charlie Cresswell.